A move to close Dickson Public School, rejig school boundaries and grades offered at several west Galt elementary schools was a hard decision, but a necessary one, says a parent member of a review committee that made the recommendation.

Tasked with a government mandate to ensure elementary school resources are being utilized efficiently, a volunteer committee spent nearly a year researching and reviewing public schools before making its recommendation to Waterloo Region District School Board trustees.

The most controversial part of the proposal is the call to close Dickson, deemed outdated, under-capacity and too expensive to operate for less than 90 students.

Bev Fox, a parent and member of the accommodation review committee, said it’s a “shame” to have to close the school, but said, “It wouldn’t be financially responsible to keep Dickson open.”

And where small class sizes might be enjoyed by students at Dickson, other schools included in the review are plagued by overcrowding, with hundreds of children housed in portables, she explained.

For example, Highland Public School has been suffering from an overcrowding “crisis” created by pressures from development and an influx of French immersion students.

The committee argued that too many children are being schooled in undesirable portable conditions and have recommended building additions at the school to accommodate students. The additional space will allow the school to continue offering French immersion, but also add a Grade 6 to provide programming consistent with other local schools.

St. Andrews’ programs would be accordingly adjusted to only offer Grade 7 and 8.

If trustees opted to close Dickson, students would be absorbed into Blair Road, Highland or Tait Street schools as part of recommended boundary changes.

Twenty-three scenarios were considered in all before the committee finally arrived at its final conclusion, explained Fox.

And although families and some members of the community have rallied against the review’s recommendation to close Dickson, Fox defended the decisions in a delegation to trustees Monday night.

While some argued the process was flawed and rushed, Fox said the review was anything but. Hours of research, school visits and proposal juggling were difficult and taken seriously.

“It wasn’t a simple decision,” she assured.

The final recommendation, which still requires trustee approval, met the majority of goals to ensure student safety and well-being, as well as fiscal responsibility, said Fox.

The proposal also calls for building a new school on Beechwood Road, deemed more possible after consolidating under-utilized resources, including Dickson.

Trustees are slated to make a decision on the recommendations by Jan. 14.